1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a large-sized clock such as the one which is principally installed on the exterior of a building or a flower clock which is installed outdoors.
2. Description of Related Art
The clock of this kind is known well as flower clock, tower clock and the like. Conventionally, a long hand, short hand and second hand of the clock are disposed on the surface of a wall or on the surface of the ground, and the hands are connected with and supported by a driving mechanism which is installed in the wall or in the inner surface of the wall or in the ground or the like. The driving mechanism is manufactured in one unit of a device composed of driving sections which generate different movements of each hand to provide each one of the hands with necessary movement.
It is, however, necessary for the conventional clock to install the driving device in a wall or in the ground or in the inner surface of a wall, and the driving shafts used therein have to be stretched out onto the surface of the wall or outside of the ground in order to connect the hands to each one of the driving shafts. A large-scale operation is, therefore, required to install the driving mechanism, and considerable time and labor are consumed.
Moreover, it is hard to handle the driving device installed in the ground or in the wall and inconvenient for checking and maintenance operations. Since the driving device is made up in one unit which is composed of the driving mechanisms of each hand, even one hand gets out of order, the whole structure of the driving device has to be checked, and the operation becomes unnecessarily complicated.
In the case of a flower clock, for instance, flower can not be planted around the central part of the clock since driving section is buried in the ground thereat. In the case of a tower clock, an operation room has to be provided at the back of the clock for checking and maintenance operations.
Furthermore, it requires very long hands, and the portion of leading end side of a hand extending from rotative shaft section becomes remarkably long and heavy as compared with the portion of tail end side. The weight is therefore not balanced well between the leading end portion and the tail end portion, and smooth rotation can not be expected. In order to solve the problem, it is necessary to adjust the weight balance by housing a weight in the tail end portion. The structure thus becomes complicated to make it hard to install, and it eventually necessitates expensive cost for manufacturing and installation operation. The built-in balancer makes the weight of the whole body heavier and it invites disadvantages to transport and installation operations.